2020 in Myanmar

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 History of Myanmar Timeline

Events of 2020 in Myanmar.

Incumbents

• President : Win Myint
• State Counsellor : Aung San Suu Kyi
• First Vice President : Myint Swe
• Second Vice President : Henry Van Thio

Events

January

• 23 January – The ICJ delivers its order on provisional measures in The Gambia v. Myanmar at a public sitting in The Hague, read by Court President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf. ^[1]
• Activist Naw Ohn Hla and three colleagues are sentenced to one month in jail for protesting the destruction of villagers’ homes. ^[2]

February

• 29 February – Myanma soldiers allegedly detain and torture a civilian in Mrauk U Township, Rakhine State, for suspected links to the Arakan Army. The man is reportedly beaten and forced to confess. ^[3]

March

• 14 March – Airstrikes by the Myanmar military hit Meik Sar Wa villages in Paletwa Township, Chin State, killing multiple civilians. ^[3]
• 16 March – Soldiers arrest ten villagers in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State, using violence against detainees. ^[3]
• 23 March –
  • Myanmar confirms its first two laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. ^[4]
  • Myanmar officially designats the Arakan Army (AA) as an unlawful organization.
  • Nay Myo Lin, the editor of Voice of Myanmar, is charged under a counterterrorism law for interviewing an Arakan Army official. ^[2]
• 30 March – Myanma soldiers burn around 10 houses and one school in Minbya Township, resulting in two civilian deaths. ^[3]
• Police raid the office of Rakhine media group Narinjara News to detain three reporters, seizing multiple sets of equipment and files. ^[5]

April

• 7 April – Fighting and airstrikes near Hnan Chaung Wa village in Paletwa Township, Chin State kill seven and injure eight people. ^[3]

May

• 2 May – Mobile internet restrictions are lifted in Maungdaw township, Rakhine State. ^[2]

July

• 2 July – At least 162 people are killed in a landslide at the Wai Khar jade mine site in the Hpakant area of Kachin State. ^{[6] [7]}

August

• 22 August – Rohingya politician Abdul Rasheed’s application to run for the November general election from the Sittwe constituency is rejected by Myanmar’s Union Election Commission, which claimed his parents were not citizens at the time of his birth. ^[8]

September

• 22 September – The U.N. warns that Myanmar’s 2020 election will disenfranchise Rohingya voters; Myanmar defends the process, and rejects six Rohingya candidates. ^[9]
• Two children are killed by artillery fire in Myebon township; as clashes in northern Shan and Kachin States cause multiple displacements. ^[2]

October

• 5 October – Myanmar’s military allegedly force a group of farmers to walk ahead of troops to clear mines in Rakhine State; two boys are killed and one is wounded. ^[10]

Deaths

• 1 May – Tun Tin, 6th Prime Minister (b. 1920).^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar)" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
2. Human Rights Watch (2021-01-13), "Myanmar: Events of 2020", Share this via Facebook, retrieved 2025-09-03
3. "Indiscriminate airstrikes kill civilians in Myanmar as Rakhine conflict worsens". Amnesty International. 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
4. Oo, M. M., Tun, N. A., Lin, X., & Lucero-Prisno, D. E., 3rd (2020). COVID-19 in Myanmar: Spread, actions and opportunities for peace and stability. Journal of global health, 10(2), 020374. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.10.020374
5. "Myanmar: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
6. "Myanmar jade mine landslide kills 120". BBC. 2 July 2020.
7. Nang, Saw; Paddock, Richard C. (July 2, 2020). "Myanmar Jade Mine Collapse Kills at Least 168". The New York Times .
8. Naing, Shoon (2020-08-25). "Rohingya politicians excluded from Myanmar election". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
9. Nebehay, Stephanie (2020-09-22). "U.N. rights envoy to Myanmar says election will fail to meet standards". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
10. "Myanmar's Military Still Using Children in Fighting | Human Rights Watch". 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2025-09-03.